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Nate Ballard of Protect Our Defenders outlines the storytelling and outreach strategy Interchange developed for this client. Ballard spoke at the Nonprofit Technology Conference where he accepted the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Award on behalf of Protect Our Defenders.

Eight charities have won cash grants through the DoGooder Awards, an annual contest that highlights the best nonprofit videos.

The winning videos, which include both advocacy and fundraising features, succinctly communicate a message while including a call to action, says Danny Alpert, a contest judge and executive producer at See3, a video consulting company that sponsors the contest, which is now in its sixth year.
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Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit in Burlingame, Calif., won in the small-organizations category for a video that featured interviews with members of the military who had been sexually assaulted. “A lot of videos try to create outrage,” says Mr. Alpert. “This one does a good job at it.”

The video, which garnered more than 87,000 views on YouTube, drove visitors to an online petition site by using free tools available to nonprofits through the video-sharing site. YouTube allows groups in its nonprofit partnership program to insert links and comments into their videos by using overlays that pop up as the video plays.

The Witness Blog examines the Protect Our Defenders trailer created by Interchange Productions and concludes that it’s an effective advocacy video. Here’s what Witness has to say:

At WITNESS, we rotate facilitators at our weekly staff meetings. If assigned as facilitator, the person is responsible for doing some research and sharing a current advocacy video of interest. My turn up, I screened the doGooder Nonprofit Video Award winner, “Protect Our Defenders.” The video addresses rape in the military.

Everyone seemed moved. It was obvious by their reaction why this video was a winner. So, I asked the room, “What moments in the video do you remember or stood out?” Answers: the statistics, the video included a male subject, the rape kit, the Congresswoman’s closing statement.

INTERCHANGE PRODUCTIONS’ MINI-DOC WINS 6th ANNUAL DOGOODER VIDEO AWARD
Award given in recognition of effective use of video to promote social good
helps non-profits leverage the power of social media to raise awareness

Chicago, IL – After a two-week online public voting process, the annual Nonprofit Video Awards has announced that the mini-documentary created and produced by Interchange Productions for the non-profit Protect Our Defenders has won the small organization category for best use of video for the social good.
The awards are run by See3 Communications in partnership with YouTube and Cisco Systems.

Out of 1,100 entries, the Interchange mini-doc was one of four finalists chosen in the small organization category. The winning video will be featured on the YouTube homepage for a day. Last year’s winning videos received a combined 1,000,000 views.

“We’re so excited to have been recognized like this, said Rebecca Parrish, founder of Interchange Productions, “This award is recognition of our intimate approach to storytelling.” She continued, “Our goal is always to capture the personal stories that will inspire viewers to take action. We used a very simple method of storytelling, a sit down interview, and let the powerful testimony of our subjects speak for itself.”

Interchange’s emphasis on storytelling is coupled with an equal emphasis on interactivity and engagement. Each mini-doc ends with an interactive “take action” screen that allows viewers to share the content via social media channels and to sign a petition. Parrish noted that this approach is “a simple but highly-effective formula for engaging viewers and converting them into supporters.”

Currently, there are fourteen Interchange produced mini-documentaries on ProtectOurDefenders.com, including five interactive video FAQs. Two more are in production. Interchange conducted in-depth interviews with each survivor, boiling them down to their essence and to convey a complex and dramatic story in just a few minutes, accurately gauging the attention span of impatient web viewers.

About Interchange Productions: Interchange Productions is a full-service video production company that creates videos and interactive media for purposeful organizations and independent films. We work with social ventures, political organizations, and nonprofits throughout the world to transform complex ideas into a clear voice to advance our clients’ goals. We specialize in mini-documentaries that communicate an organization’s mission and impact. With a storytelling approach, our experienced and creative team aims to show the human experience behind our clients’ work. Learn more about Interchange at www.interchangeproductions.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/InterchangeProductions.

About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is a human rights organization. We seek to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProtectOurDefenders or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/#!/ProtectRDfnders.

"Interchange’s production values are top notch. They are highly organized and most importantly, they helped subjects to share their stories with deep intimacy and honesty. All this and they came in on budget." - David Kaiser, Founder and CEO Coincident TV